ISSN:
1089-7666
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
An experimental study was carried out to investigate turbulent mixing and entrainment across a density interface subjected to velocity shear. The flow configuration consisted of a salinity (stably) stratified two-fluid system with a driven upper turbulent layer and a quiescent lower layer. The experiments were performed in an Odell–Kovasznay tank and the mean flow in the upper layer was generated by using a conventional disk pump. The velocity and salinity measurements were made using a laser-Doppler anemometer and conductivity probes, respectively, and (quantitative) flow visualization was performed using the laser-induced fluorescence LIF technique. The refractive indices of upper and lower layers were matched, using salt and alcohol, to facilitate the use of laser-based flow diagnostic techniques. The measurements show that the rms velocity fluctuation u in bulk of the mixed layer scales well with the mean velocity jump Δu across the interface. The Thorpe, buoyancy, overturning, and integral length scales, as well as the maximum Thorpe displacement in the mixed layer, were also found to be proportional to the depth h of the upper mixed layer.The structure of the entrainment interface was found to depend strongly on the bulk Richardson number Ri (=Δb h/u2), where Δb is the buoyancy jump across the interfacial layer. At lower Ri, the entrainment occurred rapidly, as in a nonstratified fluid, but as Ri increases, the entrainment rate becomes a strong function of Ri: under the latter conditions, the interfacial wave breaking and Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities were common features. At still higher Ri, the entrainment rate becomes vanishingly small and the interfacial mixing events were found to be controlled by the molecular diffusive effects. The measurement of the interfacial-layer thickness using LIF shows that it is much thinner than that measured using less-accurate techniques such as traversing probes. The nondimensional rms amplitude of the interfacial distortions at moderate and high Ri was found to be a strong function of Ri. The interfacial instabilities cause the formation of isolated mixing patches within the interface, which, when collapsed, form horizontal intrusions. The experimental measurements were in agreement with theoretical formulations based on scaling arguments.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.857995
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